RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OCEANIC EPIZOOPLANKTON DISTRIBUTIONS AND THE SEASONAL DEEP CHLOROPHYLL MAXIMUM IN THE NORTHWESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN.

The potential significance of the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum as a food resource for pelagic food chains was studied in three hydrographic regimes of the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean: the Slope Water, the Northern Sargasso Sea and a Gulf Stream cold core ring. Samples for phytoplankton species, chlorophyll and related water chemistry were obtained with a series of water bottle casts from the upper 200 m; microzooplankton and macrozooplankton were also obtained in the upper 200 m with Clarke Bumpus (67 m mesh) and MOCNESS (333 m mesh) net systems.